Thursday, July 21, 2005

Australian troops are in Iraq, for whatever real reason, but apparently to oversee the installation of a democratic government. We've got our finger in the pie, but apparently we have no interest in actually tasting the ingredients.

Copies of the draft Iraqi consitution are circulating and being reported on all over the world but not, to my knowledge through Australian news sources. Why don't we care? If we don't care, why are we there?

Here's an excerpt from the NY Times that I find especially concerning:

Women's groups are incensed by Article 14, which would repeal a relatively liberal personal status law enacted in 1959 after the British-backed monarchy was overthrown by secular military officers. That law remained in effect through the decades of Mr. Hussein's rule.The law used Shariah to adjudicate personal and family matters, but did it in as secular a manner as possible, pulling together the most liberal interpretations of Koranic law from the main Shiite and Sunni sects and stitching them together into one code.Critics of the draft proposal say that in addition to restricting women's rights, it could also deepen the sectarian divide between Sunnis and Shiites. The draft also does not make clear what would happen in cases where the husband is from one sect and the wife from another...."We don't want to use separate Sunni or Shiite laws," said Dohar Rouhi, president of the Association of Women Entrepreneurs. "We want a law that can be applied to everyone. We want justice for women."

I repeat: Why don't we care about this? If we don't care, why are our troops there?